In recent weeks, much of the frenzy surrounding Apple has focused on the iPhone, which will reportedly be unveiled on Sept. 10. But fans just can't let go of the possibility of an iWatch. Just this week, designer Federico Ciccarese circulated some futuristic iWatch concept designs, which sported a flexible display.

The iWatch is also still a popular topic of discussion among financial analysts, with at least two recent reports suggesting a late 2013 unveiling and early 2014 launch. They may not be too far off. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Apple hired fitness guru Jay Blahnik, who previously worked on the Nike FuelBand, suggesting that Cupertino is taking wearable tech seriously.

Apple chief Tim Cook actually wears a Nike FuelBand and used it as an example of "interesting" wearable gadgets during a May appearance at the D11 conference. At this point, wearable tech that does one thing well - like fitness gadgets - are useful, Cook said. But "the ones that do more than one, there's nothing great out there that I've seen" that might convince a kid to slip on a band or a pair of glasses, he argued.

Could Apple come up with that killer device? We'll have to wait and see. But not surprisingly, Cupertino isn't the only company exploring smartwatches. Sony recently introduced a follow-up to its smartwatch, while Samsung is reportedly prepping to release one next month. There's also the Kickstarter-backed Pebble, not to mention rumors about wearable watches from Microsoft and Google. Check out some of the Apple iWatch's top competition in the slideshow.

1
Samsung Galaxy Gear

Samsung's Sept. 4 event at the IFA trade show in Berlin will reportedly include the launch of the company's smartwatch. A source told Bloomberg that the smartwatch will be called the Galaxy Gear, and include the ability to process emails, access the Web, and make phone calls. PCMag will be at IFA this year, so stay tuned for all the details.

2
Omate TrueSmart

The Omate TrueSmart hit Kickstarter on Aug. 21 and topped its $100,000 goal in one day. The device includes an embedded 5-megapixel camera, and developers are pushing it as a "truly standalone water-resistant smartwatch [that] works independently from and with all smartphones."

3
Sony Smartwatch 2

Sony expanded its wearable tech lineup in June with the launch of the SmartWatch 2 (SW2), which it characterized as a second screen for your Android device. The NFC-enabled SmartWatch 2 includes a 1.6-inch, 220-by-176-pixel color display that users can swipe through to read, even in sunlight. It's splashproof (and dustproof); it will survive a rainstorm, but don't take it in the shower or pool. Sony said the SmartWatch 2 will be available worldwide starting in Sept. 2013. Pricing was not disclosed.

4
Pebble

The highest-profile smartwatch out there now, the Pebble Smartwatch features a 1.26-inch, sunlight readable, black-and-white e-paper display with 168-by-144-pixel resolution. E-paper isn't the same thing as E-ink; it's an LCD variant with a 30-fps refresh rate that lets the Pebble use lots of cool, smooth animations. Designed with an active lifestyle in mind, the Pebble is water resistant and should last for a full week on one battery charge. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 to communicate with your Android or iOS device, and allows you to check text messages, email, Facebook, and Twitter right on the watch itself. You can also use it to control your device's music player. It's available for $150 at GetPebble.
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5
I'm Watch

The I'm Watch is basically an Android device for your wrist. It runs what the company calls its Droid 2 operating system; it's actually just an ancient version of Android (1.6) that's been tweaked beyond all recognition. This watch is all about apps, and it supports features like on-demand music and cloud connectivity. It has a 1.55-inch, 240-by-240 color display, and comes with 4GB of built-in storage. It's powered by a 450MHz Atom 9 processor and 128MB of RAM. Apps like Facebook, Twitter, the news, and a calendar are all pretty cool to have right on your wrist, but it'll cost you: The basic color version of the I'm Watch starts at $399 (though it's now available for $299 for a limited time), and the company sells blinged-out models that go for upwards of $20,000.

6
MetaWatch

The MetaWatch has been out for a little less than a year at this point but the company has been making smartwatches and their predecessors for more than a decade. MetaWatch smartwatches connect via Bluetooth 2.1 and 4.0 to Android phones (v2.3 and up), the iPhone 4S, and the iPhone 5 running iOS 6. You can buy six basic models with a 96-by-96 LCD display in various colors for $179 to $199, and a Susan Kare Limited Edition will set you back $299. Selected Strata models are now $129.
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7
Martian Watch

The Martian Watch is all about voice control, and it uses Bluetooth to let you know who's calling and answer calls, connecting to either your iOS or Android phone. It can even read back text messages while you're driving. Martian looks like a real watch, albeit with a small text display in the bottom left corner. Vibration and a small blue light alerts you to incoming calls and texts; you can also push the voice command button to use Apple's Siri, for example. Martian will retail from $179 to $229. It raised more than $221,000 on Kickstarter last year and said this week that it has completed Kickstarter orders
and is now moving forward into retail and online sales.
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8
Motorola MotoActv

$249.99MSRP

Debuting in 2011, the MotoActv was one of the world's first smartwatches. The MotoACTV is Android-based and has a 60-MHz processor, and doesn't run an official version of Android; rather, it uses the "building blocks" of Android. The watch has several main apps including a music player that downloads songs from your PC and wirelessly uploads your fitness data (including GPS tracks) to its website. You're supposed to listen to your music through a Bluetooth headset. PCMag gave the MotoActv a middling review score, mainly based on its high $249.99 price. It should be noted that since Google bought Motorola, no one knows what the MotoActv's future holds.

9
Neptune Smartwatch

Eighteen-year-old founder Simon Tian says all the right things when talking about how he will "disrupt" the smartphone market. The Neptune smartwatch will be large for a wristwatch, with a touch screen that is 2.4 inches diagonally, and a resolution of 320-by- 240 pixels, QZ reports. That’s exactly the same size and resolution as the screen on older models of Blackberry smartphones with keyboards. It's available for pre-order now for $335, and even includes a tiny, 5-megapixel camera.

10
Kokkia Smartwatch

We really don't know anything about this intriguing Kokkia smartwatch we found on Amazon. Less an accessory than a full-featured standalone device, this touch-screen phone claims to offer GSM 850/900/1800/1900 calling, MP3/MP4 audio and video playback, and even includes a 1.3-megapixel camera. No word on the battery life, and there are absolutely no reviews. But it's only $99.99.

11
SVP G13

Another of the odd mix of Chinese smartwatches available on Amazon, the SVP G13 combines a quad-band (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz) phone with a Web browser, video camera and media player. Talk time is rated at 2.5 hours, with standby time of 150 hours. You'll need your own micro-SIM, which means that you'll probably have to purchase one from AT&T or T-Mobile. The phone is $99.99 - and actually gets a mix of favorable reviews.
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12
Microsoft Surface Watch

Though no announcements have been made, Microsoft is reportedly prepping its own smartwatch. In July, The Verge reported that prototype testing was underway in Redmond, several months after the Wall Street Journaltipped a touch-screen smartwatch from Microsoft. The company's foray into the smartwatch platform dates back to 2002, when the company introduced the Smart Personal Object Technology (right). But the technology never caught on, and by 2008, SPOT was just another failed gadget.

13
Google Android Watch

Not to be outdone, The Financial Timesreported in March that a source "briefed on the project" said Google's Android team is developing a smartwatch that would act as a kind of peripheral device for smartphones. Google made no mention of a smartwatch at its I/O developer conference, however, and has thus far focused most of its wearable computing efforts on Google Glass.

About the Author

Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe covered financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC and technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's deg... See Full Bio

Mark Hachman Mark joined ExtremeTech in 2001 as the news editor, after rival CMP/United Media decided at the time that online news did not make sense in the new millennium.
Mark stumbled into his career after discovering that writing the great American novel did not pay a monthly salary, and that his other possible career choice, physics, require... See Full Bio

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